Sleep deprivation is more dangerous than you may realize. As we need hours of sleep each night, after prolonged deprivation of sleep, our mental and physical health suffers.
As adults, we need around 6-8 hours of sleep. If this time frame is lacking, many negative results can follow. These can be mental and physical.
For some, staying up late is required for a job or say a time difference. In these scenarios, the important thing is to not make a habit of staying up late and not recovering from that sleep the next day. If not recovering, dangerous results can follow which include:
- Increased risk of accidents
- Weakened immune system
- Impaired cognitive function
- Weight gain
- Mood disorders
- Cardiovascular disease
Each will be discussed in detail. Continue reading to understand the risks you are taking if you choose to stay up frequently.
The risk of all of these is why Clinical Neurologist, Dr. Eric Ciliberti created Relaxium Sleep. Relaxium Sleep is a sleep supplement designed to help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and have you feeling refreshed and alert when you wake up.
Increased risk of accidents
If adequate amounts of sleep are not had, the brain is unable to restore and process information and memories, thus cognitive functions are not sharpened.
Due to this, it is much easier to make mistakes. In this case, these mistakes can happen when driving, operating machinery, or performing tasks that require a lot of attention and focus. The overall risk increases of injury, accidents, and even death.
The Sleep Foundation reports that drowsy driving can lead to serious consequences “Drivers who get six hours of sleep or less are 33% more likely to have an accident on the road, compared to those who get seven or eight hours of sleep. Driving while sleep deprived has the same or worse impact as driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05%.”
If you work a very manual job, sleep is necessary; and this isn’t to say that non-manual jobs don’t need as much sleep, because they do. It is much more difficult to perform tasks at work when tired.
Weakened immune system
Just as we need sleep when we are sick, we need sleep to help prevent sickness. When we sleep, the body creates cytokines. These are proteins that help to fight inflammation, infections, and even stress. T cells are also produced when we sleep. These cells help to identify and destroy viruses, bacteria, and harmful substances.
If we don’t sleep, cytokines and T cells are not produced. Put these together and there is a higher risk of sickness and a weakened immune system.
Sleep deprivation compromises the immune system; in the case of chronic sleep deprivation, the overall strength of the immune system is greatly diminished.
Impaired cognitive function
As mentioned briefly above, lack of sleep can have an effect on cognitive functions. Sleep allows the brain to soak up and process information received from the day. A lack of needed sleep can affect cognitive functions such as:
- Memory and learning: Consolidating memories occurs during sleep. Specifically, REM sleep is when memories and learning are processed and retained.
- Attention and concentration: It is much more difficult to concentrate and pay attention when exhausted. Alertness is not as prominent.
- Reaction time: Similarly to us stating that injury is more prominent when exhausted, reaction time goes hand in hand.
- Creativity and innovation: Creative thinking is not as simple when tired. The brain is unable to concentrate and come up with other resolutions because it is overwhelmed by a lack of rest.
- Decision-making and problem-solving: As creative thinking is difficult, so is decision-making as well as problem-solving when sleep deprived.
- Emotions: Like memory and learning, emotions are regulated during the REM stage of sleep. Without this, emotions cannot be regulated as they normally are during sleep.
Weight gain
Some may not realize, but lack of sleep can contribute to weight gain. This is because of:
- Reduced physical activity: Due to exhaustion, physical activity is typically reduced which helps to contribute to weight gain.
- Metabolism: Metabolism helps to break down food and turn it into energy. Sleep deprivation has the capability of slowing metabolism, which makes burning calories more difficult.
- Insulin resistance: Insulin sensitivity can be impaired by sleep deprivation. This can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes as well as weight gain.
- Increased stress: Stress levels have a real consequence on weight gain. Overeating can occur which contributes to weight gain.
- Hormonal changes: The hormones that regulate appetite are affected by sleep deprivation. A lack of satiety can affect your feelings of fullness, causing you to eat more.
Mood disorders
The combination of stress, lack of regulation of emotions, and more can contribute to the fluctuation of mood/ mood disorders.
Due to the lack of REM sleep where emotions are regulated, irritability, mood swings, anger, and frustration can be much more present. Negative thinking patterns often occur with a lack of sleep as well.
Sleep deprivation has been known to lead to mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. These kinds of mood disorders can have a significant effect on things like social interactions. Those who are depressed tend to stay away from others, making social interactions less frequent, which can lead to further feelings of loneliness.
Sleep deprivation can even affect neurotransmitters. When neurotransmitters are trying to relay positive mood hormones such as serotonin, or dopamine, they can become imbalanced due to lack of sleep.
Cardiovascular disease
- High blood pressure
- Higher blood sugar levels
- Heart disease
- Stroke
All are significantly increased by sleep deprivation. This is because increased stress impacts blood pressure and inflammation. Blood pressure levels then affect the strain put on the heart which can lead to stroke or heart disease.
Blood sugar levels are also affected by sleep deprivation. Irregular blood sugar levels can lead to type 2 diabetes, which can then become a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Avoid sleep deprivation for better overall health
Allow yourself a full night’s rest by making some lifestyle changes. Being warned of the risks will hopefully convince you or others that it simply isn’t worth falling into the habit of not getting enough sleep.
Relaxium offers a number of safe and effective supplements that aid in the categories of sleep, calm, focus, and immunity. Created by Clinical Neurologist and Sleep Expert, Dr. Eric Ciliberti, TryRelaxium.com offers a 30-day Money Back Guarantee trial of Relaxium Sleep to allow our users to truly experience its effects. To try the product today visit our website for more information.
To restful and healthy days ahead.
The Relaxium Team
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Sources:
https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/t-cell